Russia's Nuclear Missiles are now in Active Duty
☕ India’s Morning Briefing: Wed, December 31
Hello, and welcome to the brief.
Hello, you tired, caffeinated soul.
Don’t worry, it’s almost new year. While the misery of the world has no end in sight, we hope this new year acts as a great reset for all of us; gives us the courage to take action and bring the change we want to see around.
My biggest learning from 2025 is: life will continue as is, with its ups and downs. If you envision your life a certain way, you need to take action today.
Welcome to the 197th edition of The India Brief
The Constitutional Faultline: VB-G RAM G vs The States
The Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the Centre’s new rural employment law, the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (VB-G RAM G) Act.
This isn’t just about renaming a scheme; it’s about who pays the bill. The new Act replaces the UPA-era MGNREGA and, critically, shifts the funding ratio from 90:10 (Centre:State) to 60:40. For a debt-ridden state like Punjab, this is a fiscal death sentence. The Centre calls it “cooperative federalism” and “outcome-oriented”; the States call it “coercive federalism” and “financial strangulation.”
The ideological battleground is the “Agricultural Pause” clause. The Centre argues that suspending public works during harvest season ensures farmers have cheap labour. Punjab argues this creates forced labour by denying the poor the option of government work when farmers need them. It pits the powerful farmer lobby against the vulnerable Dalit labour lobby, a divide the AAP government is exploiting with surgical precision.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is legally correct—states cannot simply annul central laws. But political legitimacy is different from legal validity. If Punjab, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu form a bloc to refuse implementation, the Centre might find that passing a law in Delhi is easy, but getting it to work in the villages is a different beast entirely. We are witnessing the opening shots of a federal war that will define 2026.
THE INDIA BRIEF
🚜 Politics: Punjab vs The Centre
🚩 Punjab Assembly passes resolution rejecting new VB-G RAM G Act.
🗣️ CM Mann calls replacing MGNREGA a “conspiracy” against Dalits.
⚔️ Centre’s 60:40 funding shift sparks fears of state bankruptcy.
The Take: Renaming schemes is our national sport, but this time the Centre changed the funding rules too. Punjab is broke, angry, and using the Assembly to say, “We can’t pay, won’t pay.”
📉 Business: Blinkit’s Billion Dollar Exit
😲 Blinkit CFO Vipin Kapooria resigns abruptly.
📉 Parent co Eternal (Zomato) stock slides 2.6% to 5-month low.
🔫 Market panic over leadership stability in quick-commerce.
The Take: In the startup world, a CFO leaving is like the pilot putting on a parachute mid-flight. Investors hate surprises, especially when they just bet the house on 10-minute grocery delivery.
🌫️ Infrastructure: The Great Delhi Choke
🌪️ 118 flights cancelled, 130 delayed at IGI Airport.
🌫️ Massive fog blanket drops visibility to near zero.
📢 Airlines issue waivers; passengers stranded for hours.
The Take: We are sending rovers to the moon, but a bit of winter condensation still defeats our capital city. It’s a humble reminder that nature bats last, even against “world-class” infrastructure.
📡 Tech: The 6G Roadmap
📜 National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) 2025 released.
🎯 Allocates spectrum for 6G testing and satellite internet.
⏭️ Prepares India for the next telecom revolution post-5G.
The Take: We barely have consistent 5G, but the government is already reserving seats for the 6G party. It’s ambitious planning, ensuring we aren’t late to the future for once.
🇧🇩 Diplomacy: The Dhaka Ultimatum
⚠️ Radical group Inqilab Mancha demands cancelling Indian work permits.
⏳ Gives Yunus govt 24 hours to act or face unrest.
🛡️ MEA rejects Pakistan’s allegations of minority attacks
The Take: Our neighbours are sneezing, and we might catch a cold. The anti-India rhetoric in Dhaka is shifting from street noise to policy demands, a dangerous escalation for our expats.
⚡ Energy: Hydro Power Play
✅ Centre clears 260 MW Dulhasti-II hydro project on Chenab.
🌊 Project cleared despite Indus Waters Treaty suspension.
📡 India asserting rights over river waters in J&K.
The Take: Water is the new oil. By pushing dams on the Chenab, New Delhi is sending a clear, wet signal to Islamabad: the days of water generosity are officially over.
🚔 Security: Bengal Infiltration Row
📢 Amit Shah accuses Bengal govt of state-sponsored infiltration.
🚔 STF nabs 11 JMB-linked terror suspects in Assam.
🗳️ BJP ramps up “demographic change” narrative ahead of 2026 polls.
The Take: The Home Minister is bringing the heavy artillery to Bengal. Connecting local arrests to a “demographic threat” is the classic election playbook, raising the temperature in the East.
💳 Banking: RBI’s Fraud Warning
🚨 RBI warns banks on rising digital payment frauds.
📝 Directs banks to clear KYC backlog, stop mechanical rejections.
The Take: Digital India is booming, but so are the digital pickpockets. The RBI is effectively telling banks to stop treating security like a tick-box exercise and actually protect the money.
🏏 Cricket: Women’s Dominance
🧹 India Women beat Sri Lanka 5-0 in T20I series.
🥇 Deepti Sharma becomes all-time leading T20I wicket-taker.
💪 Team looks solid ahead of 2026 World Cup.
The Take: A whitewash so clean you could eat off it. Deepti Sharma is now a legend, proving that while the men’s team fluctuates, the women are building a dynasty.
🎮 Gaming: PS6 Delay?
👂 Reports suggest PS6 launch delayed to post-2027.
🧠 RAM shortages caused by AI data centre demand.
🤖 AI boom is eating the hardware needed for gaming.
The Take: AI is now stealing our video games. The insatiable hunger of data centres for chips means gamers might have to wait longer to see the future of pixels.
WORLD WATCH
🇻🇪 Venezuela: Kinetic Trump
💥 Trump alleges US hit a “drug dock” in Venezuela.
🚁 Suspected CIA drone strike on Tren de Aragua gang.
📈 First direct kinetic action on Venezuelan soil.
The Take: The “War on Drugs” just went ballistic. Bombing a sovereign nation’s port is a massive escalation that signals the Roosevelt Corollary is back with a vengeance.
🇷🇺 Russia: Hypersonic Threat
🚀 Russia puts “Oreshnik” missiles on combat duty in Belarus.
☢️ Nuclear-capable, Mach 10 speed, un-interceptable.
🎯 Direct threat to NATO’s eastern flank.
The Take: Putin is moving his chess pieces dangerously close to the board’s edge. Placing hypersonic nukes in Belarus is less about defense and more about holding Europe hostage.
🇮🇱 Gaza: The NGO Ban
🚫 Israel bans Doctors Without Borders & others from Gaza.
❓ Alleged failure to hand over staff details.
🗣️ 10 nations call it “catastrophic” for 1.3m civilians.
The Take: Banning the people who bandage the wounded is a grim new low. It weaponizes bureaucracy against survival, ensuring the humanitarian crisis turns into a humanitarian void.
🇧🇩 Bangladesh: End of an Era
🕯️ Former PM Khaleda Zia passes away at 80.
🗳️ First female PM; bitter rival of Sheikh Hasina.
😢 7 days of mourning declared; end of the “Battling Begums.”
The Take: Death finally ends the feud that defined a nation for decades. Her passing leaves a political vacuum in Dhaka just as the current interim government struggles for stability.
SIGN-OFF
Take a breather today. Be easy on yourself and your loved ones. It’s a short life we get to experience together, every second is valuable.
Stay sharp,
Aditya S.